Lieser Niederberg Helden, Riesling, Auslese , 2016

A nose replete with ripe, honeyed red apple notes hardly prepares you for the vibrancy, clarity and lift this displays on the palate - there's a palpable sense of extract which gives a dense chewy quality, bringing backbone to the bright pear, peach and tangerine flavours.

This Estate is one of the new stars of the Mosel that in Thomas Haag (son of Wilhelm at Fritz Haag), has one of Germany’s brightest up and coming winemakers. His prime plots of land are in the top due south-facing Niederberg Helden vineyard of Lieser. Though just a few hundred metres from his father’s Brauneberg vineyards, the heavy thicker set grey/blue slate of the Helden vineyard produces heavier wines that sometimes require more initial bottle bottle age before showing their true colours. Rigorous work in the vineyard and microscopic attention to detail in his cellars, guarantee a consistent production of good wines in poor years and outstanding wines in great years. In fact, Thomas can regularly claim to have the Mosel’s lowest yields. Since 2004, Thomas has been exploiting some vines in the famous Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr vineyard, given to him by his father Wilhelm Haag of the Fritz Haag estate.

The vineyards along the steep sided banks of the Mosel river, part of the region known as the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, are known for being some of the hardest vineyards in the world to work (due to their steepness) and home to some of the finest white wines in the world. Riesling is king in this cool region that follows the twists and turns of the River Mosel providing myriad different terroirs and vineyard aspects.

One of the world’s noblest grape varieties, Riesling produces scented, refreshing, mineral wines from dry to lusciously sweet. Its bad reputation, tarnished by the cloying and completely unrelated Liebfraumilch, is one of the wine world’s great injustices. Its heartland is the steep Mosel and Rheingau valleys of Germany, where it produces floral spritzy off-dry to medium wines packed with lime and apple fruit or, when affected by botrytis, honeyed apricot characteristics. In Alsace, Austria’s Wachau and Germany’s Franken there are some exhilarating, complex dry versions that work very well with Oriental fusion foods, as well as some stunning sweet versions. Some superb lively fruit-forward styles are cropping up in New Zealand, Constantia in South Africa and the cooler parts of Australia and California.

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Tax Status Explained

IB stands for In Bond. Wines that are stored In Bond have not had UK Duty and VAT paid on them.

Most of our wines are available for purchase under bond, as fine wines often need to be laid down in order to allow them to mature. Many clients choose therefore to store them in our bonded warehouse and pay the tax as and when they wish to get the wines delivered. Please note that Wines purchased In Bond can be exported to non-EU countries without the need for Duty and VAT to be paid.

DP stands for duty paid. If you wish to get wines delivered for drinking, the duty and VAT will need to be paid as it leaves its bonded state in the warehouse. The wine is then said to be duty paid.

All taxes must be paid in order for us to be authorised to ship or deliver wine (unless the wine is bonded and being moved to another bonded warehouse or being shipped directly outside of the EU.)

EP stands for En Primeur. These wines are currently held with the Estate and Domaine’s we work with and will be shipped in due course.